Utah History: Difference between revisions

== Brief History ==

The following events affected [[Portal:Utah|Utah]]'s political boundaries, record-keeping practices, and settlement patterns.  

'''1847''': Brigham Young led the first wagon train of pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. These were the first white settlers in Utah.  

'''1847–1869''': About 69,000 Mormons crossed the plains into Utah by wagon or handcart before the coming of the railroad.  

'''1847–1857''': Mormon settlers founded approximately 100 towns in present-day Utah, Nevada, Idaho, California, and Wyoming.  

'''1849''': The Mormons organized the Provisional State of Deseret, which provided Mormons with a constitution and a system of government until Utah became a territory in 1850. The State of Deseret included parts of present-day California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.  

'''1850''': The Utah Territory was organized to include parts of what are now Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.  

'''1850-1853''' Indian Wars  

'''1856-1860''': Approximately 3,000 immigrants came to Utah with the handcart companies.  

'''1857-1858''': President James Buchanan ordered United States States Troops to the Utah Territory to challenge an alleged Mormon rebellion. Brigham Young recalled settlers from outlying communities. The crisis was settled peacefully, and in June 1858, federal troops established Camp Floyd 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.  

'''1858-1868''': Another wave of Mormon settlement saw communities established in Utah and what is now southern Idaho, southeastern Nevada, and northern Arizona.</nowiki>  

'''1860''' (April 3) - '''1861''' (October 24) Pony Express  

'''1861''': The territory of Utah was reduced by the creation of the territories of Nevada and Colorado.  

'''1862-1865''': Fort Douglas was established in 1862 when 750 volunteer soldiers came from California during the Civil War.  

'''1862''': The first of a series of federal laws was passed to discourage the practice of polygamy. The first was the Morrill Act which defined plural marriage as bigamy and declared it a crime.  

'''1863''': Mining began in earnest. Recurrent mineral discoveries brought prospectors to Utah throughout the latter part of the 1800's and into the 20th century. Mining attracted minority communities to Utah.  

'''1863''' Bear River Massacre  

'''1865-1867''': Approximately 100 settlers and an unknown number of American Indians were killed during the Black Hawk Indian War. Attacks were primarily occurred in the Sanpete and Sevier valleys, causing the temporary abandonment of a number of settlements.  

'''1868''': The territory of Utah was reduced by the creation of the territory of Wyoming.  

'''1869''': The first transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Point near Brigham City, bringing an influx of settlers to Utah, including Chinese.  

'''1870s''': Mormon settlers established additional communities in the adjacent states of Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. The coal mining industry that began in the 1870's and steadily increased until the 1920s attracted thousands of new immigrants to eastern Utah.  

'''1874''': A second anti-polygamy bill, the Poland Act, was passed, limiting the jurisdiction of probate courts, thus forcing members of the Church to be tried in federal courts including those being tried for polygamy and those seeking divorce.  

'''1879''' White River Ute  

 

'''1880s-1890s''': Mormons primarily from Utah, Idaho, and Arizona established communities in Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, and Alberta, Canada.

'''1890''': Wilford Woodruff, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a proclamation that became known as the Manifesto. This advised Latter-day Saints "to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land".  

'''1896''': Utah was admitted as the 45th state. At this time the probate courts were abolished and the responsibilities of the federal district courts were transferred to state district courts

'''1942''': As part of World War II, Topaz concentration camp for relocating Japanese Americans started first large Japanese community in Utah.

'''2006''' 35 Indian tribes with population of 33,000

== State Histories ==

*Alter, J. Cecil. ''Utah, the Storied Domain''. Three Volumes. Chicago, Illinois: American Historical Society, 1932. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=211610&disp=Utah%2C+the+storied+domain%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 979.2 H2a; film 1000613]). This three-volume set has good detail from the Indians to the industrialists of 1932. Volumes two and three have biographical sketches of prominent men and some women. It is indexed.  

*May, Dean L. ''Utah: A People's History''. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 1987. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=645827&disp=Utah%2C+a+people%27s+history%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 979.2 H2md]). This is a one-volume comprehensive history of the state. It is indexed and has a good bibliographical section.  

*''Utah: A Centennial History''. Three Volumes. New York, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1949. (Family History Library [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=176699&disp=Utah%2C+a+centennial+history%20%20&columns=*,0,0 book 979.2 H2s]). This includes a brief history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Milton R. Hunter and a good section on Utah history. Volume three contains personal and family records.  

The records on compact disc mentioned in the "Church Records" section of this outline include several histories of Utah. Check these indexes for more information.

*Utah - History - Yearbooks<br>

[[Category:Utah|History]]